For before those days there was no wage for people or for animals, and there was no safety from the enemy for those who went out or those who came in, and I sent each person against {one another}.

'For [there will be] a sowing of peace; the vine will give its fruit, and the soil will give its produce, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these [things].

For thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Just as I planned to bring disaster on you when your ancestors provoked me to anger," says Yahweh of hosts, "and I did not regret [it],

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'The fast of the fourth [month], the fifth [month], the seventh [month], and the tenth [month] will be for the house of Judah jubilation and joy and merry festivals; therefore love truth and peace.'

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'In those days ten men from {all the nations of every language} will take hold of the hem of a Judean man, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard [that] God [is] with you!" '"

An oracle. The word of Yahweh [is] against the land of Hadrach, and Damascus [is] its resting place. For to Yahweh belongs the eye of humankind, and all the tribes of Israel,

Tyre has built a fortification for itself, and it heaped up silver like dust, and gold like [the] mud of [the] streets.

Look! The Lord will drive it out and will hurl its outer ramparts into the sea, and it will be consumed by fire.

I will remove its blood from its mouth, and its abominations from between its teeth. And it too will be a remnant for our God; and it will be like a tribal chief in Judah, and Ekron [will be] like [the] Jebusite.

But I will encamp at my temple [like a] guard, against those crossing through and returning; no oppressor will cross through them again, for now I have seen with my [own] eyes.

[As for] you also, because of the blood of your covenant, I will release your prisoners from {the waterless pit}.

For I have bent Judah [as] my bow; I have set Ephraim [as an arrow]. I will set in motion your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Javan. I will wield you like the sword of a warrior.

And Yahweh their God will save them on that day, as the flock of his people; for [they are like] the stones of a diadem, glittering on his land.

For how [great is] his goodness, and how [great is] his beauty! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine [the] young women.

And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and the house of Joseph I will save. And I will bring them back, because I have compassion on them, and they will be as if I had not rejected them, for I [am] Yahweh their God, and I will answer them.

I will whistle to them and gather them, for I have redeemed them, and they will become numerous as they have been numerous [before].

And I will bring them back from the land of Egypt, and from Assyria I will gather them. To the land of Gilead and Lebanon I will bring them, until no [room] will be found for them [there].

Open your doors, Lebanon, so that fire will devour your cedars!

Wail, O juniper, for [the] cedar has fallen, for [the] magnificent [trees] are ruined! Wail, oaks of Bashan, for the impenetrable forest has come down!

[Listen to] the wailing of the shepherds, for their splendor is ruined! [Listen to] the roar of [the] young lions, for the thickets of the Jordan are ruined!

The ones buying them kill them and go unpunished, and the ones selling them say, 'Blessed [be] Yahweh, for I have become rich.' Their own shepherds have no compassion for them.

For I will no longer have compassion on the inhabitants of the land," {declares} Yahweh. "Look, I [am] going to cause humankind to fall, each into the hand of his neighbor, and into the hand of his king; and they will devastate the land, and I will not deliver [anyone] from their hand."

And I got rid of three shepherds in one month, for {I grew impatient} with them, and {they also became tired of me}.

For look, I [am] raising up a shepherd in the land who will not attend to the [ones that are] perishing; he will not seek the young man, he will not heal the [ones that are] crushed and he will not sustain the healthy [ones]; he will devour the flesh of the {fattened ones} and tear apart [even] their hoofs.

'Look, I [am] going to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding nations; it will also be against Judah in the siege against Jerusalem.

{And then} on that day I will make Jerusalem a stone weight for all the peoples. All those lifting it up will grievously hurt themselves, and all the nations of the earth will assemble against it.

" 'On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a pan of fire among [sticks of] wood, and like a torch of fire among stalks of grain, and they will devour to [the] right and to [the] left all the surrounding peoples, and Jerusalem will be inhabited again [in] its place, in Jerusalem.

On that day the wailing will be great in Jerusalem, like the wailing for Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

" 'On that day a well will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, {to cleanse them from sin and from impurity}.

but he will say, "I [am] not a prophet; I am a tiller of the soil, for a man has acquired me since my youth."

And I will bring the [remaining] third into the fire, and I will refine them like [one] refines silver, and I will test them like [one] tests gold. They will call my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'They are my people,' and they will say, 'Yahweh [is] my God.'"

Look! A day [is] coming for Yahweh, when your plunder will be divided in your midst.

When you offer a blind [animal] for sacrifice, is that not wrong? And when you offer [the] lame and the one who is ill, is that not wrong? Present it, please, to your governor! Will he be pleased with you? {Will he show you favor}?" says Yahweh of hosts.

"Who also among you will shut [the temple] doors [so that] you will not kindle fire in vain [on] my altar? I take no pleasure in you," says Yahweh of hosts, "and {I will not accept} an offering from your hand.

From the rising of the sun to its setting, my name [is] great among the nations, and in every place incense [is] being presented to my name, and a pure offering. For my name [is] great among the nations," says Yahweh of hosts.

"Cursed is the one who cheats, who has in his flock a male and vows [it], but [instead] sacrifices a blemished one to the Lord! For I [am] a great king," says Yahweh of hosts, "and my name [is] awesome among the nations."

"And so then, O priests, this command [is] for you:

For the lips of [the] priest should guard knowledge, and they should seek instruction from his mouth, for he [is] the messenger of Yahweh of hosts.

But you ask, "{For what reason}?" Because Yahweh stands as a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have been unfaithful, even though she [is] your marriage partner and {your wife by covenant}.

"For hate divorce," says Yahweh, the God of Israel, "and he [who] covers his clothing [with] violence," says Yahweh of hosts. "{You must be attentive to} your spirit and you must not be unfaithful."

And who [can] endure the day of his coming? And who [is] the one who can stand {when he appears}? For he [is] like a refiner's fire, like launderers' alkali.

"Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear {falsely}, and against the oppressors of [the] hired worker [with his] wages, [the] widow and [the] orphan, and {the abusers of} [the] alien, and [yet] do not fear me," says Yahweh of hosts.

"For I, Yahweh, have not changed, and you, O children of Jacob, have not perished.

You [are] being cursed with curse, for you [are] robbing me, the whole nation [of you]!

Bring the whole tithe to {the storehouse}, so that there will be food in my house, and test me please in this," says Yahweh of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour forth for you {an overflowing blessing}.

I will rebuke the devourer for you; it will not destroy the fruit of your soil; your vine in the field will not be unfruitful," says Yahweh of hosts.

"For look! The day [is] about to come, burning like an oven, and all the arrogant and every {evildoer} will be stubble. The coming day will consume them," says Yahweh of hosts. "It will not leave behind for them root or branch.

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise, with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like {fattened calves}.

You will trample down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I [am] going to act," says Yahweh of hosts.

But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

saying, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star at its rising and have come to worship him."

So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet,

'And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you will go out a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.'"

Now [after] they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping [for] her children, and she did not want to be comforted, because {they exist no longer}."

saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the life of the child are dead."

and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near!"

For this is the one who was spoken about by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'"

And do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham [as] father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Already now the ax is positioned at the root of the trees; therefore every tree not producing good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is more powerful than I [am], whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing shovel [is] in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

But Jesus answered [and] said to him, "Permit [it] now, for in this way it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted him.

and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down! For it is written, 'He will command his angels concerning you,' and 'On [their] hands they will lift you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan, for it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

Now [as he] was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew, throwing a casting net into the sea (for they were fishermen).

Blessed [are] the ones who hunger and thirst [for] righteousness, because they will be satisfied.

Rejoice and be glad, because your reward [is] great in heaven, for in the [same] way they persecuted the prophets before you.

"You are the salt of the earth. But if salt becomes tasteless, by what will it be made salty? It is good for nothing any longer except to be thrown outside [and] trampled under foot by people.

For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one tiny letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all takes place.

For I say to you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw [it] from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell.

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for a matter of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same?

"But [when you] pray, do not babble repetitiously like the pagans, for they think that because of their many words they will be heard.

Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows {what you need} before you ask him.

For if you forgive people their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

"Whenever you fast, do not be sullen like the hypocrites, for they make their faces unrecognizable in order that they may be seen fasting by people. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward in full!

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming [insect] destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming [insect] destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You are not able to serve God and money.

"For this [reason] I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, what you will eat, and not for your body, what you will wear. Is your life not more than food and your body [more than] clothing?

But if God dresses the grass of the field in this way, [although it] is [here] today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not [do so] much more [for] you, you of little faith?

for the pagans seek after all these [things]. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these [things].

Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, because tomorrow will be anxious for itself. {Each day has enough trouble of its own.}

For by what judgment you judge, you will be judged, and by what measure you measure out, it will be measured out to you.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened for you.

For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Or what man is [there] among you, [if] his son will ask him [for] bread, will give him a stone?

Or also [if] he will ask for a fish, will give him a snake?

Therefore [in] all [things], whatever you want that people should do to you, thus also you do to them. For this is the law and the prophets.

Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony to them."

For I also am a man under authority who has soldiers under me, and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another one, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does [it]."

And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go, as you have believed it will be done for you." And the slave was healed at that hour.